OIL SANDS * Canada - Canadians ponder cost of rush for dirty oil

As oil prices continue to reach record highs, the search for new sources of energy has led the world to Alberta, Canada, and its vast oil sands

Fort McMurray,Alberta Canada -The Guardian (London,UK), by John Vidal -July 12, 2008: -- Now, John Vidal finds, the country famed for its wilderness and clean living finds itself caught between fuelling the world's oil-hungry economy and the ecological devastation and soaring greenhouse gas emissions that exploiting the tar sands produces... (SEE VIDEO) ... The speed and scale of the growth of oil sands mining have shocked Canadians who regard themselves as living in one of the most environmentally responsible countries in the world. But record oil prices are posing a serious dilemma between supporting today's oil dependent economy and moving to cleaner energy sources to avoid a future climate catastrophe... The Caterpillar 797B heavy hauler is the world's biggest truck. It's taller than a four-storey house, as wide as a tennis court and it removes nearly 35,000 tonnes of oily sand a day from a deep open cast mine in northern Alberta in western Canada.... Truck number 108 is driven by Norman Johnson, 63, a long-time Shell man who is planning to spend his retirement fishing, camping and "hunting the critters" in the vast boreal forests and bogs that stretch across the region. "It's just like driving your car. Couldn't be easier - once you get used to its size", he says from his cab, 40ft off the ground... But the future of northern Alberta's aspen and pine woods, its rivers and animals are in doubt as the world's greatest modern oil rush accelerates. Shell, Chevron, Exxon, Total, Occidental, Imperial and most other oil majors have so far invested nearly $100bn Canadian dollars (£50bn) in the 1,160 square mile (3,000 square kilometre) "bitumen belt", which is being called the "new Kuwait"...


* Gigantic tires, fuel-thirsty dump trucks among biggest costs in oilsands mining

Fort McMurray,Alberta,Can -The Canadian Press, by LAUREN KRUGEL -12 July 2008: -- Todd Dahlman gestures proudly to a 4,900-kilogram tire on display at the edge of Shell Canada’s vast oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta... The mine operations manger for the Albian Sands project explains that this is not just any ordinary tire — it clocked a record-breaking 9,965 working hours under the weight of the planet’s biggest dump truck before finally being retired last month... The average lifespan of a tire in the oilsands is 6,000 working hours, or roughly a year. At $50,000 each, it’s clear why Shell would want to make each tire last as long as possible... From the gargantuan dump trucks used to haul the oil-soaked ore to the thousands of workers needed to get the job done, the oilsands business is mind-bogglingly expensive.
So the everyday details on site matter a great deal to companies’ bottom lines...